The Crusader Journal

By Ece Toksabay and Mehmet Emin Caliskan ANKARA/AFRIN, Syria (Reuters) – Turkish forces will press their offensive against Kurdish YPG fighters along the length of Turkey’s border with Syria and if necessary into northern Iraq, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday. Turkish troops and their rebel allies swept into the northwest Syrian town of Afrin […]

By David Randall NEW YORK, 2018 – U.S. stocks joined a broad decline in global equity markets on Monday as traders turned cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting this week and amid continuing concerns about the threat of a global trade war. At the same time, shares of Facebook Inc shed nearly 7 […]

PARIS (Reuters) – French President Emmanuel Macron’s government plans to tighten controls on the unemployed and increase penalties against those who fail to look hard enough for a job, the labor ministry and union leaders said on Monday. Macron, elected last May on a pro-reform ticket, has already changed labor rules to make it easier […]

TUNIS (Reuters) – A militant blew himself up as Tunisian security forces surrounded him and another fighter in a house near the Libyan border on Monday, the interior ministry said. Forces then shot the second man dead in the coastal town of Ben Guerdan, officials added. A security source said the men were likely to […]

By Mircely Guanipa PUNTO FIJO (Reuters) – Venezuela has arrested the former refining boss of state oil company PDVSA for alleged corruption, two sources told Reuters on Monday, extending a crackdown on the OPEC nation’s ailing oil sector. Veteran oil executive Jesus Luongo joins a list of dozens of oil managers who have been arrested […]

By Jon Herskovitz AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – Police in Texas fear a serial bomber planted four powerful explosive devices that have killed two people and injured four others this month, raising fears in the state capital Austin of another attack. Investigators said they have no clear idea what motivated the series of attacks, which began […]

By Kirsti Knolle VIENNA (Reuters) – Austria’s capital Vienna once again defended its position as the city offering the best quality of life in the world, while Iraq’s capital Baghdad remains the worst in an annual survey from consulting firm Mercer. Mercer’s survey of 231 cities helps companies and organizations determine compensation and hardship allowances […]

(Reuters) – Mississippi’s governor signed into law on Monday the most restrictive abortion measure in the United States, which was immediately challenged in court by abortion rights advocates who say it is unconstitutional. Republican Governor Phil Bryant said he was proud to sign the bill banning abortion after 15 weeks of gestation with some exceptions, […]

ABUJA (Reuters) – Nigerian security forces were warned about the presence of Boko Haram fighters near the town of Dapchi, but failed to respond, allowing insurgents to kidnap 110 schoolgirls almost unharrassed, Amnesty International said on Tuesday. The kidnapping on Feb. 19 of the girls from Dapchi, aged between 11-19, had echoes of the Islamist […]

By Gabriela Baczynska and Alastair Macdonald BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Britain and the European Union agreed on Monday to a transition period to avoid a “cliff edge” Brexit next year — though only after London accepted a potential solution for Northern Ireland’s land border that may face stiff opposition at home. The pound surged on confirmation […]

FILE PHOTO: Adult-film actress Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels, poses for pictures at the end of her striptease show in Gossip Gentleman club in Long Island, New York, U.S., February 23, 2018. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File photo

By Karen Freifeld

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The adult-film actress who claims she had an affair with Donald Trump before he became U.S. president offered on Monday to return $130,000 that Trump’s personal lawyer paid her in what she said was hush money to remain silent about the alleged relationship.

Actress Stephanie Clifford, who uses the stage name Stormy Daniels, has said the affair with Trump began in 2006 and lasted several months. Trump has denied he had an affair with Clifford.

Clifford proposed on Monday that she be allowed to discuss her alleged affair with the president freely after repaying the money.

“This is an extremely fair offer,” her attorney, Michael Avenatti, said in an interview. “It accomplishes the goal of allowing the American people to decide who is telling the truth after hearing both sides.”

The alleged affair has become the latest distraction for Trump as he tries to advance his trade agenda and prepares for a proposed meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. It also threatens to erode the president’s support among evangelical voters.

Michael Cohen, a private lawyer for Trump, has said he paid Clifford $130,000 of his own money during the 2016 presidential election campaign. Cohen did not explain why he made the payment or say whether Trump was aware of it. http://reut.rs/2GnCPZX

Regardless of whether Cohen accepts Clifford’s offer, the money is the subject of a complaint by the watchdog group Common Cause to the Federal Election Commission. The group claims it is an illegal campaign contribution because of the size and purpose of the payment.

Avenatti in a letter to Cohen, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, said the actress would wire the funds to an account of Trump’s choosing by Friday. Avenatti set a deadline of Tuesday for Cohen to respond.

Under the proposal, Clifford after returning the money would be allowed to speak “openly and freely about her prior relationship with the president and attempts to silence her.”

She also would be able to “use and publish any text messages, photos and/or videos relating to the president that she may have in her possession, all without fear of retribution and/or legal liability for damages,” the Avenatti letter said.

The letter also asked that the president’s lawyers agree that neither Trump nor the shell company Cohen used to pay Clifford would attempt to block the broadcast of an interview Clifford taped with CBS News’ “60 Minutes” program last week.

And it would require the agreement be signed by all parties, including the president, who did not put his name to the previous nondisclosure deal.

Cohen, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter, nor did Cohen’s attorney. The White House also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The offer from Avenatti came after White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told a briefing last week that Trump had won an arbitration proceeding against Clifford.

The New York Times reported last week that the president’s lawyer had secretly obtained a temporary restraining order to prevent Clifford from speaking out about her alleged affair with Trump.

Clifford in turn sued Trump for the right to speak about the “intimate relationship” she claims they had, saying he never signed the agreement to keep her quiet.

Clifford could be subjected to a $1 million penalty if she broke the nondisclosure agreement she signed. Avenatti told CNN over the weekend that at least 10 people had offered to pay the penalty if she would discuss the alleged affair.

(Reporting by Karen Freifeld and David Alexander; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)